Pablito Pablito Pablito Aimar

The diamond studs in each ear lobe offer glittering indication that the game of football has been good to Bobby Convey, the youngster from a modest Philadelphia background who is now a successful and popular Yank at Reading.

This afternoon at Upton Park the 23-year-old Convey will tangle with Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano, old rivals from their days as youth internationals on the American continents, north and south. While not wishing to be over-helpful, and thus endangering Reading's eye-catching start to Premiership life and three-game unbeaten run, he wants to let the Argentinian pair know that settling in with West Ham United is likely to be a long and possibly painful process, since the same thing happened to him.

Convey, a left-sided (and left-footed) midfielder, joined Reading from the Major Soccer League club DC United in July 2004, exactly a year after a similar move to Tottenham had fallen down at the last minute when he was refused a work permit.

"I got here too late, about three days before the first game of the season," said Convey before taking his diamond accessories off for a workout at Reading's Hogwood Park training ground. The 2004-05 season was one in which Bobby would manage only seven games, and it took him a while to work out why.

"I thought it would be easy because everyone here speaks English, like me. But it's a completely different culture to the United States and you have to get used to it, get ready for the physical demands, week in and week out. I didn't think it would be that big an adjustment, but it was. Once I settled, I started every one of Reading's games last season and then went on to the World Cup with the US.

"It will be difficult at first for Tevez and Mascherano, too. Even apart from the question of a different language, in their country they play a completely different way. It will take at least six months to get used to different habits in a different league, what the coaching staff expect you to do and learning how the other players operate. In certain countries they are taught to keep the ball, but here it is a faster pace, one, two touch, not too much time on the ball. So you can't expect someone to do well the first few weeks."

Bobby竟然也跟小猴小馬扯上關係
他好心提醒兩人英超之路不好走
還預言兩人需要6個月時間適應
現在回頭來看
果然"前輩"的話還是很有道理阿...